Only the characters are saving this show
POSTED BY: UFO
UPDATED: Saturday, November 9, 2002 02:05
VIEWED: 13407
PAGE 4 of 5
By the definitions of "science fiction" that are offered as proof that Firefly isn't, practically no other science fictin would be either. Science fiction is just a category of settings, just like historical fiction is another category of possible settings in which a story could be set. Sure, almost every story could have been set in multiple different settings, but any given story is only in one setting, and then that setting just is what it is. This isn't difficult. No requirement of questions that practically no science fiction really poses anyway. No requirement that the story be so entangled in nonexistent technology or physical phenomena nobody's experienced yet, that it can't be told in some other setting without significant adjustment (a requirement that it's impossible for any story to ever meet). No requirement that it incorporate an entirely different set of dramatic elements from those that have made good storytelling for as long as we've had languages. All you need to know is that Firefly is set in a future setting which is affected by technological advances not yet actually made, and POOF, it's science fiction. All the rest is just sorting out details of what KIND of science fiction it is, and there are many kinds. But Firefly isn't freakishly different enough from other shows to alienate "science fiction fans" (any one of which probably doesn't like almost as much SF as (s)he does like anyway, for various reasons that have nothing to do with the applicability of the SF label).
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As a former 1st Season Dark Angel Fan, I entered the Firefly universe with some angst because I lost my favorite kick-butt friday night sweetie.
But - Firefly is unique. The characters *are* the show. (Zoe and Kaylee have both since replaced Max as my Friday night girls ....)
Unfortunately, although the series tugs at my heart because I'm a sucker for the offbeat shows, the plots thus far have been pretty lackluster. They're not "VIP"ish bad plots - it just seems they are missing something. They've got the characters, they've got an odd looking transport ship, no heavy weapons, they have the situation with the Alliance, and they have an interesting "history" with the war if they ever expand more upon what happened. I was expecting a little more.
Firefly reminds me too much of shows like Stargate ... it almost seems like Firefly should be playing on Sunday afternoon.
They're going to have to put a little more sci-fi into it though. Like some of the more advanced worlds. We realize they have to hang around the edge of the Alliance because they have fugitives on board and they're basically smugglers ..... but although Firefly is basically a Space Western (which is what the show was billed as - so no one here should be surprised or complain), they are going to have to integrate a little more "space theme" and "technology" into the scenes. It's looking a little too low budget.
Otherwise, it's pretty academic. People will watch it, get bored, and Firefly will end up like Space Above And Beyond .....
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Quote:
Originally posted by Evans:Quote:
Originally posted by LivingImpaired:
Guys, I think you're missing the point. Firefly is about space in the same sense that Buffy is about Vampires. By that I mean that they aren't. The shows are case studies in the human condition, set in extreme circumstances. If you want shallow scifi, with lasers for the sake of lasers, watch Star Trek.
I don't mean to be bitchy here, just stating facts.
I, too, agree with you. It isn't science fiction, it's social fiction.
m.
Ohhh! I like that! Social Fiction...... good one!
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Quote:
Originally posted by Thegn:
Firefly is as much science fiction as any other science fiction.
You want a "what if" clause?
What if an interstellar civil war left a large group of economically destroyed planets and disaffected people who sought freedom from an oppressive super-power in deep space?
What if the social conditions and economic disparity of the future are no different then they are today despite the technology?
What if the advances in science make us no more enlightened as a people then we are right now?
What if our current human condition is all we will ever be?
That's pretty much how I look at it too. But then, I'm not that big of a "scifi" fan. I'm not into Trek or any of her counter-parts, I don't do Farscape, and I watch Andromeda very little (mainly for Sorbo), but this show has just the right amount of scifi for me. It's easy to watch and even easier to enjoy for the low scifi'ish (is that a word? LOL) stuff. But then it could just be me......
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I think the western/rual/souther side of the show is a blast. I really enjoy it.
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Quote:
Firefly is as much science fiction as any other science fiction.
You want a "what if" clause?
What if an interstellar civil war left a large group of economically destroyed planets and disaffected people who sought freedom from an oppressive super-power in deep space?
What if the social conditions and economic disparity of the future are no different then they are today despite the technology?
What if the advances in science make us no more enlightened as a people then we are right now?
What if our current human condition is all we will ever be?
How's that "what if" for you?
Im going with Thegn on this one. Basically the point being that just because the science in question is not classicly "hard" (meaning that it doesnt have all the bells and whistles that engineering and technology have) doesnt mean its any less valid.
On another note: though I really love Firefly, I do agree with those that believe it could be better!
Maybe a little spit-shine would bring out some lustorous appeal.I wish I was a jellyfish because jellyfish dont pay rent.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Thegn:
You want a "what if" clause?
What if an interstellar civil war left a large group of economically destroyed planets and disaffected people who sought freedom from an oppressive super-power in deep space?
What if the social conditions and economic disparity of the future are no different then they are today despite the technology?
What if the advances in science make us no more enlightened as a people then we are right now?
What if our current human condition is all we will ever be?
How's that "what if" for you?
The "what if" has to be something new and different--something never before experienced by humankind. The post civil war scenario was inspired by the American civil war--Joss Whedon said so himself, so that is not new.
The rest of your "what if" assertions can be summarized with "what if things never change in the future?" Again, this is by Whedon's design, but again this is not science fiction. There is nothing interesting to explore in that. There is no change. The "what if" in science fiction must explore some kind of change. If things do not change, if things stay the same, then everything will be as it is today. That's an easy premise to extrapolate; there are no interesting and different possiblilities to imagine. Firefly is not science fiction.
That's not a bad thing; it's just going to alienate viewers who are looking for science fiction.
P.S. I haven't seen "Out of Gas" yet. What I've read about it makes me think that it may have been the first episode to actually be science fiction.
roj
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Firefly falls in the genre of fiction called "space opera". Future technology or different social mores are not important to the stories as is the case in real science fiction. Space opera is just stories set in space or in the future that could just as easily have been given a setting in present day on planet Earth. Star Wars is space opera. Farscape and Andromeda fall somewhere between space opera and science fiction. Star Trek was science fiction. And Firefly is space opera.
I like space opera, but it is not science fiction.
roj
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Quote:
Originally posted by Thegn:
While I agree that the characters are the most important part of the show, I don't think there is any lacking in the science fiction. I don't see the "Western" theme that so many of you are talking about. What I see is not "Western" but simply underdeveloped. I think many of you are making the extrapolation that it is "Western" when in fact is simply supposed to be underdeveloped.
Underdeveloped is the right word. And an underdeveloped galaxy is not unrealistic in the future. Go to the Amazon rain forest in present day and you will find CD players juxtapositioned with blowguns. That is all you are seeing in the worlds that the Serenity visits. If you spread humanity thin by increasing communication and travel time, then it will look like it does in the Firefly universe. Star Trek had an optimistic view of the future where everyone reaped the benefits of technology. Firefly has a more pessimistic view. Either view is valid and reasonable. I personally find the optimistic view more entertaining and I watch TV to be entertained; it's an escape from my pessimistic reality. I don't really like future fiction that suggests that life will always suck.
roj
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Quote:
Originally posted by UFO:
Anyhoo...I can live with the country/western theme IF they would spend an equal amount of time dealing with worlds on the more technology/civilized side as well. So far it's been 100% sticks, six shooters, covered wagons, cattle, and horses.
Mix it up a bit! ;)
Maybe you are watching the wrong show! Seems like the entire purpose of the show is to be out on the edge where the civilized world ISN'T.
I too would like to know more about the technology. But not from the "civilized" perspective. We know already that diseases come about as a result of terraforming. I'd like to know more about that. We've got the "Reavers" who are feral humans. I'd like to know about that.
We can't have a prejudice that says that science is only about technology. Technology is only ONE aspect of science... biology and geology are others...and it seems in this universe that we will see more of that kind of science fiction than anything. Then there's the soft sciences such as sociology and psychology - again - I think sci-fi is most interesting when it explores these realms.
Quite frankly, we could have some really interesting science fiction set right here, in our own time, on our own planet. There are enough scientific interactions on our planet that one oddly mutated person would could do the trick.
Those who say that Firefly is "space opera" I think are prematurely judging the series. I don't know yet if that characterization is accurate - we will know soon enough how much of the implied science will be explored, or how much it is just background for our cast of characters to play against.
QueenTiye, Companion Academy, class of 2006
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